Andre Gomes has rubbished claims that he said Lionel Messi, not Ernesto Valverde, picked Barcelona’s team.
The story was ran by Portuguese publication Record on Sunday, with the original report surfacing in Don Balon, but Gomes made it clear he had too much respect for his Coach and superstar to ‘invent’ something so farfetched.
“I haven’t said anything against Messi or Valverde. It’s an invention,” the midfielder told reporters ahead of his country’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Switzerland on Tuesday.
“I have great respect for Valverde and Leo not to say something like that.”
The 24-year-old has made six appearances for Barca this season but only over 110 minutes of football, while he was linked with a switch to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the summer transfer window.